Major crash involving 16 vehicles closes highway south of Phoenix

PHOENIX — A major crash involving about 16 vehicles forced the closure of a highway south of Phoenix on Wednesday, authorities said.

The crash occurred on State Route 347 — one of the highways that connects the city of Maricopa to Interstate 10 — at Riggs Road. The roadway remained closed until early Thursday morning.

TRAFFIC ALERT: 16 car collision at SR347 & Riggs, Road closures at: EB Riggs Rd, EB on ramp QC and I-10, 347/Riggs is a hard closure.

— Gila River Police (@GilaRiverPolice) December 28, 2016

SR 347 was eventually closed in both directions because of the crash. The Arizona Department of Transportation was not allowing southbound drivers to merge onto the highway from I-10.

UPDATE: SR 347 southbound is now closed at I-10. #aztraffic https://t.co/3FuMpw69je

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) December 28, 2016

News helicopter footage showed a large number of emergency vehicles on the scene.

Delays on I-10 were also longer than usual because of the crash.

UPDATE: There are significant delays on I-10 SB from Chandler Blvd to Casa Blanca Rd. This is due to a crash-related detour. #aztraffic pic.twitter.com/ejr1MFffuf

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) December 28, 2016

The Arizona Department of Public Safety described the accident as a cross-over wreck and had anticipated reopening the road by 1 a.m.

SR 347 has reopened at Riggs Road following a crash Wednesday evening.. #PhxTraffic

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) December 29, 2016

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